This easy White Chicken Chili Recipe is full flavored with chunks of juicy shredded chicken, creamy white beans, green chilies, and a flavorful broth. This easy weeknight dinner is delicious served with corn bread, shredded cheese, sour cream and cilantro for toppings.
Easy White Chicken Chili Recipe
For years the only dish I would order at The Cheesecake Factory was White Chicken Chili. Their version was creamy and served over rice and it was one of those meals that felt especially warm and comforting.
My version is a bit lighter, and won't leave you feeling like you just ate a rich meal, but just as delicious! I use store bought rotisserie chicken shredded into big chunks as a shortcut that saves time and adds so much flavor.
This White Chicken Chili recipe is a must make because it's simple, flavorful but not spicy so it's whole-family friendly, and comes together quickly. It's also delicious reheated and who doesn't love a bowl of leftover chili for lunch?
Easy White Chicken Chili Ingredients
- Rotisserie Chicken - you can always cook and shred your own chicken but rotisserie is so moist and tender and the flavor really adds to this chili.
- Chicken Broth - I really like the flavor of Pacific Foods Organic Chicken Broth, but use whatever you like.
- Great Northern White Beans - These beens are creamy and delicious and not as large as Canellini Beans.
- Yellow Onion - Chopped into a small dice.
- Garlic - lots of fresh garlic is a must to add flavor to the chili.
- Poblano Pepper - these chili peppers are mild in spice and add a great bite to the chili. This is a must for flavor so don't skip this ingredient. Even my 7 year old twins love this recipe and they do not tolerate spice.
- Diced Green Chilies - another layer of chili flavor without spice. I like to use the fire roasted mild green chilies but you can also add hot green chilies to increase the spice level.
- Spices - chili powder, cumin, dried oregano leaves, salt and pepper.
How to Make White Chicken Chili
- Shred chicken - I use the breast meat for this recipe but you can use dark meat or a combination of both.
- Saute - in a large dutch oven, saute onion, poblano chili and garlic until tender.
- Spices- add spices and green chilies and cook for just 30 seconds to bring out the flavor of the dried spices.
- Broth - add in the broth and bring the mixture to a simmer.
- Puree - meanwhile puree one cup of white beans with a cup of the hot soup and then return to the pot.
- Beans & Chicken - add in the remaining white beans and chicken and bring to a simmer cooking until chicken and beans are heated through and flavors combined.
- Lime- finish with the juice of one lime before serving.
Toppings for White Chicken Chili
To serve this chili, top with a dollop of sour cream, a sprinkle of shredded white cheddar cheese, green onions and cilantro. Corn bread is a perfect side for this chili as well and is delicious dipped into the chili or crumbled on top.
More Soup Recipes:
Today I'm joined by my Tastes of the Season friends to share five more delicious soup and chili recipes with you! All of these look delicious and sure to warm you up this fall.
Minestrone Soup by Ella Claire & Co. | White Chicken Chili by Freutcake | Split Pea & Pumpkin Soup by French Country Cottage
Turkey Chili with Pumpkin Cornbread by Zevy Joy | Tomato Basil Soup by Inspired by Charm | Easy Chicken Tortilla Soup by Handmade Farmhouse
More Soups & Chili Recipes to Make
- Turkey Black Bean Chili
- Tortellini Zuppa Toscana
- Big Batch Chunky Chicken Noodle Soup
- Minestrone Soup
- Sausage, White Bean, Tortellini Soup
- Roasted Tomato Soup
- Chili Mac and Cheese
Easy White Chicken Chili
An easy and flavorful white chicken chili with shredded rotisserie chicken, green chili peppers, creamy white beans and a savory broth.
Ingredients
- 4 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
- 1 ½ cups yellow onion, diced small
- ½ cup poblano chili, diced small
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional if you like spicy)
- 2 - 15 oz cans great northern white beans, drained and rinsed
- 5 cups chicken broth
- 2 - 4 oz cans fire roasted green chilies, un-drained
- juice of 1 lime
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- Shred chicken into bite sized chunks and set aside. I use the breast meat for this recipe but you can use dark meat or a combination of both. You will want 4 generous cups of meat total.
- In a large dutch oven over medium high heat add a couple tablespoons of olive oil. Saute diced onion, diced poblano chili and garlic until tender, about 5 minutes.
- Add chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt and pepper and stir to release the flavor of the spices. Add green chilies and cook for just 30 seconds, stirring.
- Add chicken broth and bring the mixture to a simmer.
- Meanwhile in a blender or food processor, puree one cup of white beans with a cup of the hot soup (ladled carefully from the pot.) Once the beans and broth are smooth, return the mixture to the pot. This adds creaminess and slightly thickens the chili.
- Add in the remaining white beans and chicken and bring to a simmer cooking until chicken and beans are heated through and flavors combined, 10 minutes.
- Finish by stirring in the the juice of one lime.
Notes
Optional Variations:
- Stir in 1 cup frozen corn during the cooking process if you like corn.
- If you want your chili creamier, you can stir in ¼ cup of sour cream at the very end, just before serving.
Ingredients for topping:
shredded white cheddar cheese
sour cream
green onions
cilantro
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 702Total Fat: 30gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 17gCholesterol: 206mgSodium: 2342mgCarbohydrates: 50gFiber: 11gSugar: 6gProtein: 61g
Lauren Neal says
Hi Leah, this looks amazing. Are the nutritional facts for the whole pot of soup (all 4 servings)? I can’t believe one serving is 1148 cal, 99g protein. Thanks for clarifying.
Leah Bergman says
Hi Lauren, thank you for pointing that out! I use an automatic nutrition card calculator for my recipes and there must be an error here. Obviously the toppings; sour cream, cheese etc. will add additional calories but the soup itself is pretty lean just broth, chicken, veggies and beans. I will look into why this is calculating so high. I am updating the serving size to 6 servings because that will be a more standard serving size. If you have big eaters in your family I feel like this recipe perfect for a family of 4 however.